You  have  all  heard,  I  presume,  of  the  annual  overflowing of  the  Nile.  On  the  third  day  of  my  voyage  the  river began  to  rise  most  amazingly,  and  on  the  next  it  spread  over the  whole  country  for  many  leagues  on  each  side.  On  the fifth,  at  sunset,  my  barge  became  entangled  with  what  I  at  first took  for  reeds,  but  next  morning  I   found  myself  surrounded by  almond  trees,  whose  fruit  was  perfectly  ripe  and  in  the highest  perfection.  Upon  plumbing  with  a  line,  my  people found  we  were  at  least  sixty  feet  from  the  ground,  and  unable to  advance  or  retreat.  At  about  eight  t)r  nine  o'clock,  as near    as    I    could    judge    by    the    altitude    of    the   sun,  the wind  rose  suddenly,  and  canted  our  barge  on  one  side ;  here she  filled,  and  I  saw  no  more  of  her  for  some  time.  Fortunately we  all  saved  ourselves  (six  men  and  two  boys)  by clinging  to  the  tree,  the  boughs  of  which  were  equal  to  our weight,  though  not  to  that  of  the  barge.  In  this  situation  we continued  six  weeks  and  three  days,  living  exclusively  upon the  almonds  ;   I   need    not   inform  you  that  we  had  plenty  of water.  On  the  forty-second  day  of  our  distress  the  water  fell as  rapidly  as  it  had  risen,  and  on  the  forty-sixth  we  were  able to  venture  down   upon  terra-firma.

- Chapter 10